OMGBA 8th Grade Girls Win MYAS Grade State Tournament

The (OMGBA) eighth grade girls team brought home the championship trophy in the MYAS Grade State Tournament 5A bracket March 4.

Eighth graders on the OMGBA team went into the MYAS state tournament seeded eighth in the top bracket last weekend.

The first game against #9 seed Owatonna went into overtime, with OMGBA coming out with a 34-30 win. Keys to the game, according to Coach Mike Sullwold, included “our posts shut down their offense” and making “Owatonna shoot from the outside.”

The second game of the weekend came when OMGBA matched up against #16 seed Rochester Mayo who earlier upset the number one team in the state, according to Sullwold. The team pulled off another win with a final score of 26-21.

Advancing onto the semifinals, the OMGBA eighth grade girls played #13 seed White Bear Lake – a team that had pulled off two earlier upsets in the tournament by beating both the #4 and #5 seeded teams.  “White Bear Lake was a very aggressive team. The [OMG] guards handled the pressure, and again our posts shut down the inside game,” Sullwold said. The final score was 24-17.

In the final game was against familiar opponent in #3 seed Lakeville South, a team that had beat OMGBA earlier in the season by six points.

“In the finals, the team led at halftime 14-13 with both teams playing great defense,” Sullwold said.

Some of the highlights during the game, according to Sullwold, included: 

• Meghan Lee, Bailie DeBoer, Morgan Schock and Maddie Tharp controlling the boards and limiting the Cougars to only one shot in the inside.

• Three blocks by Maddie Tharp

• Jordan Quale, Kylie Binstock, Julia Sullwold and Lauren Scheidler came up with some “great plays” on the defensive end of the floor and forced turnovers. They also controlled the ball during the full court press.  

• Mackenzie Barta hit some critical shots to keep the team in the game. 

• Allie Schmidt controlled the middle of the lane and also had key baskets.

“The game was sealed with eight seconds left, Lauren Scheidler came up with a great steal and passed it down court to Julia Sullwold and was fouled,” Sullwold said, stating Julia’s making one of her two free throws to give the team a four point lead. 

Lakeville South hit a three point shot at the buzzer to make the final score 35-34, with the OMGBA winning the game by one. The state championship victory capped off a winning season for OMGBA, with a finishing season record of 26 wins and 10 losses.

Members of the 2012 MYAS 5A Girls 8th Grade State Basketball Championship team included: Mackenkie Barta, Kylie Binstock, Bailie DeBoer, Meghan Lee, Jordan Quale, Lauren Scheidler, Allison Schmidt, Morgan Schock, Julia Sullwold and Maddie Tharp. The team was led by head coach Mike Sullwold and assistant coaches Chuck Barta and Wade Quale.